6-22. Battle of Muno City (1)

Satou's here. They've said that the punishment for traffic law breaker is light, yet here, the situation seems to be slanted toward the opposite of expectation.
I'm keeping safety in mind when I'm driving a wagon.

◇

Two horse-drawn carriages have come from the baron to pick us up. Either of them is a two-seater carriage. The doors are carved with relief that looks like it'd make stylish nobles happy, and also adorned with golden stones that seem like jewels.

Hayuna couple get on separate ride from us.

I've known it from preliminary check already, but this city is too deserted. Even though it's almost twice the size of Seryuu city, the population is only around 1/6 of it. Houses are standing in row as we leave the gate, but in the middle of the way, series of vacant lots covered with weeds unfold.

"There are many vacant lots huh."
"Sir, are you familiar with the incident 20 years ago."
"Yeah, although I don't know how much of it is true, I've heard the general rumor."
"Most of it is probably the truth. The vacant lots were the result of the king's armies setting fire in the city to destroy the many undeads who were attacking."

The coachman answered my question while facing the road. His voice is loud, not losing to the carriage's noise.

"King's armies?"
"Yes, after the undead had extracted their revenge by killing the entire lineage of the old noble, they remained inside the city without moving. So the king had wanted to do something before they would move. The commoners who died from the fire set by the armies are several times more than from the undead since they wouldn't get attacked by the undead if they stayed inside the house."

At least, "Set the fire after you evacuate the commoners.", or maybe they didn't know about the actual site?

"Because of that, there were a lot of people who left this territory. Now, there aren't even 20% left of the people from 20 years ago."
"It's good that the city doesn't disappear even after that."
"That's because this city has a wall protecting it. The wall was made in the time of ancestor king and was enhanced with fixation magic, even if monsters attack, it wouldn't move an inch. A city simply cannot be made in another location if it's not by a high-ranking noble."

I see, no wonder the wall looks splendid in spite of the poor territory.

◇

I hear crashing sound and people's scream ahead the carriage. After a bit of pause, our carriage shooks a bit as it gets across something.

"Sir, and madam, I'm sorry for the shaking. Some poor people were jumping "Stop at once" in."

Arisa orders so as she interrupts the coachman's excuse. As expected of a princess, she's used with commanding words. The coachman reflectively stopped from Arisa's order.
The horse-drawn carriage had ran over a little girl.

I jump out of the carriage and run to the girl. The girl's HP is decreasing rapidly.

"Make ways!"

It's irritating to get through the people who swarm the girls with my footworks. However, I made it barely in time.

I take out a magic medicine (potion) from my pocket while sitting beside the girl and make her drink it. It seems she has fainted, her breathing has stopped. The medicine spills out from her mouth because of that. Her HP has stopped decreasing for a moment, maybe because she's drunk a bit of it.

I've wanted to press her chest to do artificial respiration, but it probably has been hit by the carriage, her chest is depressed. It's impossible like this.

I take another potion from my pocket, and drink it to her mouth-to-mouth.
Maybe because the effect is weak, the girl's HP bar fluctuates for a bit, then it begins decreasing little by little.
Even though Ossan who was fatally stabbed by a sword was saved, is it no good for this girl. Or maybe the damage continues on because the broken rib is piercing her.

Should I use the medicine with unknown effect in the storage even while knowing the risk?

Arisa who has finally caught up grabs a short cane from my waist.

"Let me borrow the short cane, ■■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■ ■■■ Light Healing"

It's a healing magic from light huh. Arisa is doing good.
However, it's just a temporary relief.

"It's no good, it's not enough with just light healing magic."
"We should take her to the temple priest."

The people around us deny those words.

"There's no priest who can use holy magic in this city. Everyone was caught after they were accused of made-up crime like corruption and thrown into the prison."
"Either way, she can't be saved with those wounds. Let her go without suffering more."

Not only her chest is depressed, her arm is bent unnaturally too. Her physical strength that has been fluctuating also begins dropping slowly. Her HP is already less than 10%.

When I've decided that giving her medicine with unknown effect is better than letting her die, the scene of me making the magic medicine (potion) flashes in my mind.

The differences between normal and magic medicines are in the reagent and the presence of magic power.

The reagent is just a thing to fuse the magic power with the drug.

Then, the immediate effect of the medicine is due to the existence of magic power.

I put the magic potion in my mouth once again. And before I drink it to the girl, I pour magic power into the potion. I have skill for bestowing magic, I should be able to do it.

I pour it three times the amount of magic power usually used to make normal magic potion.

"Wa... wait, is that some kind of skill, you're glowing you know."

I'm bothered with what Arisa is saying but let's think about that later. I make the girl drink the magic strengthened potion mouth-to-mouth.

Immediately after she's drunk it, her body becomes wrapped in red aura, but it soon disappears as if sucked in.

She hasn't completely recovered, but it's working. Her depressed chest and broken arm have been restored too. Her HP is stopped at around 40%, but it's not decreasing when I watch it for a while.

I give another potion to a little girl who looks to be the injured girl's little sister, she's clinging to her.

"If she doesn't wake up after 1-2 hours, give her this medicine."
"Un, I understand."

An old lady who seems to be an acquaintance with the little girl talks to me while looking hesitant.

"Magician-sama, thank you very much. However, lowly citizens like us cannot pay you back."
"It was my carriage that ran over the girl. I'm not expecting compensations at all. Rather, it should be the girl who should seek reparations."

I change the subject since it looks like it would have steered toward selling themselves again.
However, the expressions of the old ladies are poor.

"We can't possibly ask reparations. It's a crime to obstruct the path of noble's carriage like this girl has done after all."
"That's right sir, even if you save her now, she'll be caught by the soldier to become a slave or get hanged."

The coachman adds on the words of the old lady.

Oi oi fantasy, isn't that too severe.

I've saved her after much effort. I'll save her with any cost even if it's just for my own self-satisfaction.
If by being saved means she'd become slave or executed, let's make it so that she's not saved.

The surrounding people seem to be allies of the girl anyway, the only real witness is the coachman.
Let's coax him somehow.

He might betray me later by telling what happen here to the baron, but rather than being suspicious of everything, let's use whatever method available.

"Now then, I've finished taking care of the poor girl who had been ran over by the carriage. Let's not make baron-sama wait any longer and go."

I make the coachman grips a silver coin.
The girl died despite the treatment. The girl's name remains unknown.

"Righto, sir. The girl who was ran over is pitiful, but it can't be helped eh."

This man can read atmosphere quite well. I'd like Toruma ossan to learn some things from him.
Looks like the coachman rides on the farce with the bribe. Even so, is his underling-like way of talking instead of the polite way from just before also a part of the farce?

The adults around also participate in the farce by pretending to cry. What sociable people they are. The little sister who can't follow the story has became flustered, but after the old lady whispers something to her, she immediately understands.

We get back on the carriage, and advance to the baron's castle located at the elevated ground.

At that time, the battle between the 1000 baron army and 3000 demi-goblins begins. At the moment, it seems that the baron army is advantageous.